


getting to know you (it's not what I wanted)

by isloremipsumafterall



Category: Star Trek: Picard
Genre: F/F, more pre-slash than anything but listen they'll get there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-06
Updated: 2020-02-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:47:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22587361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isloremipsumafterall/pseuds/isloremipsumafterall
Summary: Slowly, and begrudgingly, Agnes grows on Raffi.
Relationships: Agnes Jurati/Raffi Musiker
Comments: 6
Kudos: 32





	getting to know you (it's not what I wanted)

“I haven’t been on a ship in a while.” Agnes was rambling and she knew it. The quiet of the ship was just getting to her. “Well I was never on too many ships anyway. That’s not something we did much in my lab at Daystrom.”

“Does she every stop?” Raffi interrupted, glancing over not so subtly at Agnes.

“Oh.” Agnes at least could take the hint. “Sorry.”

Behind them Jean Luc was smiling and Cristobal was rolling his eyes.

“It’s just, where are we going? I noticed this isn’t heading towards Freecloud and I thought we’d decided on that and-”

Raffi sighed, shaking her head.

“We’ve got some stops to make first.” Jean Luc told her, making Agnes look back from where she was sitting. “I need to pick up another friend.”

“Can we at least background check this friend first?” Raffi asked, her voice dry and she was looking back over at Agnes.

“You could background check me. I worked at Daystrom, obviously. But before that I was in Starfleet.”

Raffi winced and exchanged a glance with Cristobal.

“And before that-”

“I’m not actually looking for your life story.”

“Right. Sorry.” Agnes shrunk a little in her seat and stared out the viewscreen.

* * *

“You know I didn’t get your name. But Picard called you Raffi, right?” Agnes held out her hand again. She’d fallen asleep in the navigation chair, the adrenaline of the day getting to her as it wore off. Jean Luc had woken her and then pushed her towards a small quarters and a helpful EMH had told her they were hers to use.

Then she’d woken up, hungry and wandered out into the hall and straight into Raffi.

Raffi looked at her hand and then up at her face, ignoring the proffered hand. “He did.”

Agnes dropped her hand, her smile losing some of it’s shine but still there.

Raffi sighed and slowly uncrossed her arms to offer her hand, “I guess if you’re going to be here you can call me that.”

Without hesitation Agnes took her hand and beamed at her. “What do you think about synthetics?”

“Not quite my area of expertise.” Raffi pulled her hand away and turned to walk off but Agnes kept up pace with her.

“It’s my area. Well it was until Starfleet cut it, but I still work with it in theory! And the idea that out there is an advanced synthetic lifeform that doesn’t even know what it is? I cannot wait to see it.”

“Good for you.” Raffi said sharply, trying to cut the conversation.

“What was it you were looking for on Freecloud?”

“Not your business.”

“Oh.” Agnes said and was quiet as they reached the room that served as a mess hall.

The EMH came to life as they entered.

“Our programmed selection is lacking a little but I’m certain I can help you find what you need.” He said, smiling at both of them and it was a little odd that he looked like Cristobal with none of the harshness.

“I’m good.” Raffi said.

“Thank you for the help!” Agnes said at the same time. “We appreciate.”

“We?” Raffi began, “I didn’t invite you to lunch.”

“Did I sleep past breakfast? That isn’t like me…” Agnes mused, ignoring the important part of what Raffi said.

Raffi rolled her eyes and begrudgingly allowed herself to have a lunch companion.

* * *

Elnor didn’t talk much when they picked him up from the planet which Raffi didn’t mind at all.

They’d had one hell of a time on the planet, in the city that had been declared Romulan only and Picard had refused to read the sign and had them enter anyway.

Agnes certainly seemed shaken up, her leg bouncing as she sat down.

“I thought you were Starfleet.” Raffi finally said, having enough of the nerves. “Didn’t you ever go on away missions?”

“Not really.” Agnes replied, smiling at her though it was strained. “That wasn’t much my thing.”

Raffi hummed, her fingers itching for another hit after the harrowing experience. She could just leave, not offer anything, it wasn’t her business.

“You get used to it.” Raff said instead as she stood up.

“You think?” Agnes craned her neck to look up at Raffi, her eyes wide.

“Maybe.” Raffi shrugged. “Only time will tell.”

“Right.” Agnes agreed.

As she was leaving Raffi could hear Agnes mutter to herself ‘I can do this’ and suppressed an amused smile.

* * *

“Why do you do that?” Agnes asked, finding her days later in the mess hall.

The ship had taken some damage from Romulans chasing after them and was in need of repair. They’d all been working throughout the day trying to get it manageable again.

Raffi looked down at the stick in her fingers, the drug held within it calling to her.

“It helps.”

“Helps what?”

“To forget.” Raffi said, her voice angry and bitter and sad all at once.

Agnes shifted on her feet and after a moment of hesitation took a seat next to her.

“I listen to music. When I need to empty my head because all the thoughts get too much.”

Raffi glanced over at her from the corner of her eye. “What kind of music?”

Agnes’ eyes crinkled in the edges when she smiled. Up close they were hazel, something Raffi hadn’t taken notice of before.

“EMH?” Agnes asked and he appeared before them, smiling at Agnes.

Raffi snorted in bemusement that they already seemed like best friends.

“Please play the selection I uploaded yesterday.”

Classical music filled the air and Raffi shut her eyes. She took another hit without a word and leaned back, her shoulder brushing Agnes.

She didn’t bother moving away.

* * *

“Wait!” Agnes rushed to get out, her breath catching in her throat.

“We don’t have the time.” Raffi shot back and grabbed her hand to drag Agnes along.

Behind them Romulans were getting ever closer.

“In here.” Raffi said and without giving Agnes time to argue she pulled them down an alley and into an open door that she then shut.

Instantly Agne’s free hand danced over the console and then the door clicked shut at is locked.

“Do you think that’s enough?” Agnes asked, her face impossible to see in the dark but Raffi could imagine her eyes were wide and full of worry.

“We’ll see.” Raffi tried hard to still her breathing but her lungs burned. The drugs did her no favours in moments like these, stealing what oxygen she needed.

They both stiffened as footsteps raced past them. Agnes hand squeezed hers hard enough to hurt but Raffi didn’t pull away.

When the footsteps fell silent they breathed a sigh of relief.

“Come on. We’re not done yet.” Raffi grumbled and tugged at Agnes hand.

She could have let go after that.

She didn’t.

* * *

“Here, I rescued what I could from the data.” Raffi said and passed over the padd to Agnes. She’d gone on the away mission to gather a cache of Maddox’s data that Agnes had discovered on a blip transmitting on a secret channel.

Agnes’ face lit up and she grabbed the padd but a second later reached over to hug Raffi.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

“It’s just data.” Raffi muttered but leaned into the hug.

Agnes pulled back, still grinning. “It’s important to me.”

“Yeah. I figured.” Raffi rubbed at the side of her waist, feeling too warm from the hug but not necessarily bad. It could have gone on longer, she wouldn’t have complained.

Too much.

Agnes was lost, her eyes darting around the padd and taking in everything and Raffi sighed as she settled down next to her.

“Hey, EMH?” Raffi called out as she dug her stick out of her pocket.

He appeared with a flicker.

“Play our songlist.” Raffi said and ignored how the EMH raised an eyebrow at her.

* * *

“You’re leaving?” Agnes sounded betrayed. Like Raffi hadn’t warned everyone this was coming.

“We’re almost at Freecloud. I’m getting off then.” Raffi refused to look up at her, continuing her packing.

“But…what about everything we still need to do.”

“You can do it without me.”

“What if I don’t want to?”

Raffi did look up at that and instantly regretted it. The look of devastation across Agnes face tugged at her heart and was exactly the reason Raffi needed off this ship.

She didn’t need this.

Counting on people got you nowhere.

“Tough luck.” Raffi made herself say.

Agnes stormed out much to Raffi’s surprise. Her throat felt tight as she watched Agnes goes and her eyes burned as she turned back to her bag.

“Here.” Agnes said, rushing back into the room and shoving something in Raffi’s face. “Call if you need us.”

A commbadge was tucked into her hand and Agnes held it there, the metal warm between them. Her eyes met Raffi’s and held her gaze and Raffi couldn’t look away if she wanted to.

It was on the tip of her tongue to say she’d stay.

Except then Agnes pulled away, blinking back the tears.

This time when she left the room she didn’t return and Raffi was left there with the horrible silence.

* * *

She was going to live to regret this.

If she lived at all.

Raffi jumped over the fallen table, landing roughly on her ankles and hissed in the pain.

She didn’t have the time to focus on that however as even with the phaser fire around them her hands were suddenly full when Agnes threw herself at her at her and wrapped her arms around Raffi.

“You came back! I knew you would. I mean Jean Luc did too and even Cristobal was betting on and Elnor didn’t say anything but he never does so-”

Raffi pressed her face into Agnes hair to halt the laughter that threatened to bubble over from her.

“I didn’t miss that you know.”

“But you missed us.” Agnes rebutted, finally pulling away.

“All right, all right.” Raffi relented. “I missed you.”

Agnes’ grin was still annoyingly bright but Raffi could deal with that.


End file.
